Grant Achatz

Surprise your guests with this hot cocktail that pairs perfectly with black cake. It's a welcome end to a celebratory meal.

This deconstructed mushroom, onion and fennel omelette is made to be a side for braised lamb shoulder.

The chewy texture and touch of South East Asian flavours adds a twist to the traditional crudités at holiday meals.

"Who doesn't like doughnuts? In this case we flip the model and make them savoury umami bombs with the addition of parmesan and capers," says Achatz. "The pine-nut butter acts as a savoury frosting and the raisins add a slight sweetness."

"Admittedly, on the surface this dish seems a bit odd," says Achatz. "Cocoa, pumpkin, cardamom, lamb? This is a perfect example, however, of a technique we use frequently at Alinea called 'flavour bouncing'."

"Twenty years ago when I was a young cook at The French Laundry in Napa, California, I was talking to a chef friend of mine in the kitchen who confidently claimed that ingredients sharing the same colour pair with each other and dared me to prove him wrong," says Achatz. "To this day, I still haven't, and this creamy, spicy and somewhat sweet white-on-white dressing proves it."

This riff on a dish from the Alinea opening menu uses dried Korean chilli threads to replicate the tingling sensation of spicy cinnamon chewing gum.

This warm cake gets gooier as the banana and olive oil ice-cream melts into a sauce. It'll remind you of the sticky puddings of your childhood.